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Vision

Vision: 1) The act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight 2) the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be 3) an experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not actually present

This weeks powerful word is Vision. Vision obviously plays a major role in the act of engaging in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is something that i can pretty much guarantee we take for granted. Vision in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu though is so much more than just what you see with your eyes. Your vision on the mat is two fold. On one hand you hold a vision of what you want to become and on the other you hold the vision of what is reality at that moment in time.

The word vision has three main definitions. The first being; “the act or power of sensing with the eyes;sight.” This has to be the most obvious of the three definitions. On the mat you watch people roll, you watch the technique being displayed, and you look for opportunities to impose your game upon another person while rolling. In part,these visual experiences start to shape your jiu jitsu identity. The other part that shapes your jiu jitsu identity is your long term vision. You should ask yourself; What does your long term vision on the mat look like? I think this is a very important aspect to everyone’s learning process. Spend some time and write out certain goals that you want to accomplish or milestones that you want to cross. If i may be so bold as to assume that, if you are training in Jiu Jitsu then your long term vision should show you as a black belt. I think its important that your longterm goal should at least encompass this aspect and then more. So then its safe to say that your vision on the mat is two fold. one it shows you as you are and on the other hand it shows what you will become.

Vision helps you stumble and fall in the right direction. For instance if i focus my vision on an image, goal, or milestone ahead me then it is safe to say that i might stumble on a an obstacle i can’t see. The thing is though, i will stumble towards what my vision is focusing on. It is in this way that we invest in failure. How else is a white belt supposed to pick himself or herself back up off the mats after being thoroughly beaten at every turn. It is the promise of the vision of what you will become. Only through knowing your vision can you every hope to establish discipline. Not only do we stumble towards what we focus on but we also naturally take steps towards what we are focusing on. Then it makes sense that if I'm focused on achieving a black belt, winning a competition, or perfecting a move; i will be more consistent and disciplined in working to achieve those things. Discipline only becomes a chore or hard when you don’t have clear vision.

I want to take a moment to introduce a concept that i look for in students. It’s called their CC # or CC factor. When i watch students roll or spar i love to watch how each student does under duress. I watch the students reaction to the unforeseen complications that arise in the middle of roll. Do they stay committed to the fundamental concepts taught in our classes or do they abandon and fight? A student’s CC # or CC factor is the students ability to stay Consistent under Complications. The higher your CC # the higher your belt color. I believe that a students ability to do this is directly linked to their vision of themselves and their vision is directly linked to their rank. A white belts vision is primarily focused on survival. It is extremely overwhelming all of the details to learn. So many different escapes, sweeps, passes, takedowns, and submissions that in the beginning the white belt focuses on surviving. As their vision comes more into focus and they are able to take in more details in the moment so too is the future vision affected. You begin to have a better idea of what kind of black belt you will become. Understanding that with no Vision you will have no Discipline; and with no Discipline you can not be Consistent to anything.

In order to raise your CC # you must spend some time on your vision. I strongly recommend putting down on paper some of your goals and milestones that you want to accomplish on the mat. In this way you begin to better know yourself. This is the whole idea anyway. Remember it is the longterm vision that enables you to stay strong and embrace the grind. No one wants to repeatedly get caught in a triangle over and over. Only when you are clear in your vision, will investing in losing take place. What we focus our vision on is where we will stumble towards when we fail. So no matter what we move closer to our goal. I love how jiu jitsu really is a journey of self discovery that is ongoing. So i challenge everybody this week to examine their vision. Set your longterm goals and aspirations. Then be honest about your present situation. What are you good at and what needs improvement. Once you have defined who you are and where you want to be ;then set your mind to achieving them. Do not stray from your vision. Im not saying this is easy. It is going to be hard. Don’t let whether something is hard or not be a deciding factor in the vision of yourself! Know thyself!